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Gavin Maitland Male Leicester. United Kingdom: Share on Facebook

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Looking for wetplate camera
11 Replies

Started this discussion. Last reply by Gavin Maitland Apr 22.

Modern Daggeureotypists
4 Replies

I know this is a stupid question and I ask only on behalf of a friend but does anyone out there know of anyone who would take a commission for a Dagguereotype portrait? A friend is very keen to have…Continue

Started this discussion. Last reply by Terry King Jul 17, 2012.

Help needed locating seaside town
4 Replies

Hi there,I have just acquired a batch of strange photographs from the 70's that I am trying to pinpoint the location of where they where taken. Please have a look at the image and if you have any…Continue

Started this discussion. Last reply by Gavin Maitland Jun 28, 2012.

Modern Tintype photography:
5 Replies

I am seriously interested in learning to make Tintypes in the original way or as close as I can get. Is there anybody on this site who practices the art of Tintyping or perhaps knows somebody that…Continue

Started this discussion. Last reply by Gavin Maitland Apr 23, 2012.

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Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Hi Jeff. Thanks for getting in touch, that sounds amazing! I grew up near Guildford so I know the area. I would love to come down and have a look. Perhaps you can give me your email and i'll be in touch or email me on…"

Apr 22

Jeff Gould replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Gavin, I've missed out on this as i've not been checking on this site for a few weeks, but I live in Guildford, Surrey, easy to get to from London, and have pleanty of plate holders of all sorts of sizes, also might have a suitable…"

Apr 20

Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Hi John, thanks for the offer but I ma based in London. If i'm ever up your way i'll give you a shout. Best, Gavin."

Apr 12

John Brewer replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Gavin I have dozens of plate holders of various sizes you can try. You're welcome to come up and spend a few hours at my Manchester studio. Drop me an email if you're interested. john at johnbrewerphotography.com"

Apr 12

Tony Richards replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"I doubt very much the MPP one will fit. Its pot luck to get a wooden book form holder to fit. I have no half plate ones to send you to try unfortunately. This is converting a 10x8 but you get the idea. These are a different fit to your camera. Thats…"

Apr 10

Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"No, neither the lens nor the camera has a makers mark, frustratingly. I suppose i'll have to keep trying half-plate holders 'til i find one that fits. You're right an MPP one might do the trick. I suppose you probably have a lot…"

Apr 10

Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Seaside Tintypes:

"Thanks Jayne - nice website and interesting image. I've been seeing a lot of these lately."

Apr 10

Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Thanks for getting back to me Tony. the plate is 6 1/2 x 4 3/4 so I guess thats half plate? The 'big resinous blob' is part that the screw should screw into which is supposed to be sitting tight in the wood. I haven't looked at in…"

Apr 10

Tony Richards replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Hi Gavin, Measure the ground glass screen at the rear of the camera, that'll tell you the plate size. If its a little bigger than 5x4 its probably half plate. Would a decent wood glue not set that joint? Is the insert that the screw screws into…"

Apr 10

Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Hi Tony. Its a little bigger than a 5x4 - I know this because I bought a 5x4 darkslide for it and its too small - though i'm not sure where/how you measure to find out....maybe you can tell me? One of the joists in the central folding mechanism…"

Apr 10

Jayne Shrimpton replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Seaside Tintypes:

"Hello Gavin I date family photographs professionally and see many privately-owned tintypes every year, dating from between the 1880s and 1940s, the main period of their production in Britain. There is a section about tintypes and an example of a…"

Apr 9

Tony Richards replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Looking for wetplate camera

"Hi Gavin, Depends on your budget and what size plates you want to shoot. I've no spare cameras at the moment having just sold a batch. Do you have a 5x4 camera by any chance? You could get hold of a MPP plate holder, thats easy enough. Or…"

Apr 8

Gavin Maitland posted a discussion

Looking for wetplate camera

Hello all,I am extremely keen to get my wetplate practice up and running by this summer but have been stopped in my tracks by buying a dud 19C camera.I know this forum has not got many practitioners on it but is there anyone out there who knows where I can buy a new or old camera that is suitable for wetplate use - i.e. it must have a usable or converted darkslide and must be in working order but I don't care if it doesn't 'look the part' at this stage.Any help gladly appreciated!Gavin.See More

Apr 8

11 Comments

Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Seaside Tintypes:

"Lovely images Tony. Your blog and professionalism put mine to shame."

Mar 24

Tony Richards replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Seaside Tintypes:

"Hi Gavin, I've added a couple more ambrotypes and tintypes to my collection. Images are posted on my blog. http://fourtoes.co.uk/iblog/?p=6688 Cheers, Tony"

Mar 23

Gavin Maitland replied to Gavin Maitland's discussion Seaside Tintypes:

" Found this fellow on National Media Museum's Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/8386798366/in/photostream/"

Mar 19

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Gavin Maitland's Blog

Help needed with magazine citation:

I am writing an article for a newish photography publication in Bristol. the article I am writing is on early street photography and I was hoping to use some images by some well known and lesser known street photographers. Does anyone know how it works with reproducing photographs in this way? Do you just need to cite the image source or would I/the magazine need to pay for the use? If anybody knows anything about this sort of thing i would appreciate a professional opinion as I am rather new… Continue

Posted on September 22, 2011 at 19:16 — 4 Comments

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At 22:29 on March 12, 2013, Lynette Zeeng said…: You need to cite but also get permission from the photographer or owner. For Education it is less complex but for publication outside education there are a lot of copyright issues. Each country is different.

At 18:27 on March 12, 2013, Graham Wood said…: Hello Gavin

I was in London at the fair on sunday , but not selling - possibly there a bit earlier than you ! The portrait is wet collodion - a modern ambrotype on black glass we were on holiday in Normandy last september and came across a photographer in Bayeux , near the cathedral who is apparently the only commercial photographer in France to do wet collodion portraits - if you are ever anywhere near there i would recommend calling in and having a portrait done - apparently he doesn' t get too much call for this skill .

At 10:48 on March 12, 2013, Paul Godfrey said…: John,

The Magic Box is certainly worth reading. It's about 150 pages in length and published in 1954. There is very little about the technical aspects of ferrotype photography but it does give a good account of how Pendrigh earned his living on the streets in his own words. In 1954 the sums of money he made were huge but today these amounts do not seem at all large. He talks about earning £97 in one day as if it's a fortune. He mentions a famous Old Bailey case of the 1950s where a beach photographer had made £47,000 in six years but omitted to pay income tax. Today this seems a small sum for six years work.

The story is mainly about his methods of earning a living. Discovering the Aptus ferrotype camera and trading illegally on the streets of south coast seaside towns. Being moved on by the police etc. to becoming a licensed photographer in Trafalgar Square. He also was a photographer at the 1951 Festival of Britain taking photographs of people on donkeys, but not using ferrotype methods by then.

I bought my copy of the book on a recommendation from an email corespondent through Amazon but I see today that there is one copy for sale at a pretty high price. I did not buy my copy for anything like this amount. There appears to have been one for sale on Ebay earlier this year that did not sell So keep your eye out for a copy at a reasonable price. One is bound to turn up.

Best wishes
Paul.

At 22:22 on February 29, 2012, Graham Wood said…: Hello Gavin

Sent a message by email to gavinmaitland80@hotmail.com is tis the address to use ?

Graham

At 20:49 on February 24, 2012, Graham Wood said…: Hello Gavin

You seem to have changed a bit - looking a bit dog- like , hope i will still be able to recognise you on sunday .

Graham

At 15:25 on February 8, 2012, whiskeightytwo said…: Hello! You have some very interesting discussions going. I hope you can find someone working in tintype. I will ask around. ;)